Friday, December 23, 2011

We're still here, it's just been a busy time this week -- trying to get out from under a PILE of receipts and expense reports, and then the double whammy yesterday... my five-year-old has a mild case of pneumonia. YIKES! She's doing better right now, but yeah, this week has been a mess.

The Golfdom office is officially closed next week, but I'll still be around here and there, trying to get caught up on some things while the office voice mail is saying, "We're closed this week! Woo-hoo!"

In the meantime, here is the December Golfdom, if you haven't seen it hit your mailbox yet. It should be there any day now, I've received mine already. Check out Clark's piece on painting greens, good stuff there!

Monday, December 19, 2011

I was at a course last week, hanging with the superintendent. He got stopped three, maybe even four different times by members. Not to ask about the new irrigation system, or how the late aeration was working out for him, or even about his day... but to ask about the gift baskets.

Yes, the gift baskets, as in the Christmas gift baskets. Turns out the women's club made a pretty nifty gift basket for all of the crew that came with fresh cookies, hand warmers, gloves and a gift card to the local grocery store. The golfers kept asking, "Did you hand out the gift baskets?" "What did the guys think of the gift baskets??" "The cookies were fresh, you have to hand out the gift baskets!!!" (The super was patient, but had to chuckle about the stress that these gift baskets were causing.)

Gift baskets are nothing new, I know I'm not breaking any news here ("We landed on the MOON!!!") but it did make me wonder what you guys do for your staff when the holidays roll around.

So, a new poll. Check it out and vote, let me know how you and your course handle the holidays.

Friday, December 16, 2011

Professional golf in December has always been kind of a joke, and I don’t think this December is any different than any other except for the fact Tiger managed to win a golf tournament. I am referring to the Chevron World Challenge, of course. It was big news for all of a day. Jones asked me what I thought about it the other day, so I thought I'd share some of my thoughts...

So Tiger managed to beat 17 other golfers, which did not include the top four players in the world, at a track he had already won at four times before and just happens to benefit his foundation……so what?!? So what if every golfer in the field had a higher world golf ranking than Tiger. So what if Tiger sank a 6-foot putt on the 18th for a one stroke win over Zach Johnson. Isn’t that what Tiger is supposed to do? Can someone please explain to me how Tiger’s world ranking jumped from 52nd to 21st with one win?

Monday, December 12, 2011

Check out the box! I never thought I'd be able to buy an 18-pack of beer in KANSAS that promoted a Mexican soccer team. Sweet!

But then, just as I was really getting excited, I tried entering their contest to win something, free soccer tickets, who knows what? ...AND the web address wouldn't work. What the?!? Then I looked closely at the rules... The contest ended three months ago!

Friday, December 09, 2011

Golfdom senior editor Beth Geraci is down in Miami on assignment for our sister publication, Landscape Management magazine. Apparently The Worm is Beth's neighbor. The Worm was chilling out at her resort, killing time until his tee time with none other than... Michael Jordan.

The Toro Company today announced it has acquired the Graden greens roller product line, which includes the GSR 1200 greens roller. The acquisition provides entry into a new product category and broadens Toro’s offering to golf customers worldwide. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“This acquisition fills an important product gap in our core golf business and helps further strengthen our offering in the greens care category,” said Darren Redetzke, vice president of Toro’s Commercial Business. “Rolling greens has become an important agronomic practice for golf courses that improves the health and playability of the greens. By leveraging our brand strength and extensive global distribution, we are well positioned for growth in this new segment.”

Graden’s other turf maintenance product lines, which include zero-turn mowers, verticutters and sand injectors, were not associated with this acquisition.

Thursday, December 08, 2011

The question was raised at the Syngenta Business Institute -- do you keep a maintenance blog? Several hands went up -- almost a third of the room said they did. A discussion followed about why maintenance blogs are useful.

Bill Davidson, CGCS, told the room that his blog on the maintenance at the Country Club of Naples had developed a cult following among members. His blog can be found here.

The best line was from Jim Alwine, superintendent at Stockton (Calif.) Golf and Country Club. When asked if many people read his maintenance blog, he smiled and said, "My Mom loves it."

Monday, December 05, 2011

I'm in Winston-Salem this week, attending the third annual Syngenta Business Institute. We're at the Graylyn Conference Center -- the second largest house in the great state of North Carolina (second to the largest house in all of America, the Biltmore). Tomorrow morning the classes begin. We've been told to be ready, so all of the superintendents -- approximately 30 -- listened, and called it an early night. Class starts tomorrow morning at 8:30 a.m. The first class is "Financial Management."

Friday, December 02, 2011

Just chatted with a GM/superintendent in Pennsylvania... they're enjoying better weather here in early December. In fact, he told me they had as many rounds of golf today as they had in the entire MONTH of December 2010.

"But nothing can make up for what we had in April and September," he said.

Here in Lawrence, Kan., yesterday it was nice to see my friend Bill Irving's course, Lawrence CC, on the front page of the paper. The story was about how nice and mild the weather has been lately.

Meanwhile, I just got off the phone with Clark Throssell... he's experiencing better weather in Billings, Mont. right now -- to the tune of 30 degrees!

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

We never know what will get a reaction and what won't. Karl and I were chatting about this just the other day.

For example, frost. I'm pretty sure the dinosaurs had to wait to tee it up on frosty mornings. Nothing new here. And yet, we've gotten a lot of positive feedback to the below "Puttin' Down Roots" email newsletter that went out earlier this week, about frost.

If you didn't see this hit your email inbox, you can always subscribe here. Karl Danneberger, Ph.D., and Clark Throssell, Ph.D., send out good info twice a month in their respective email newsletters, "Puttin' Down Roots" for Karl and "On the Green" for Clark.

Here is this month's Roots:

Frost is a common reason for morning tee time delay. The reason for the delays is the damage that can occur from foot or equipment traffic to the turf when frost is present. Generally speaking, nice fall golfing days and frost go hand-in-hand. With more frost days expected, this is a good time to look at the conditions favorable for frost.

Frost occurs on clear cold nights when turfgrass plants re-radiate heat (exothermic reaction). As the plant loses heat to the atmosphere the plant leaf cools. If the plant temperature is cooler than the air temperature then moisture from the atmosphere will condense on the leaf. If the leaf temperature drops below freezing then the water freezes and frost forms. This will occur even if the air temperatures are slightly above freezing. At this time of the year it is not uncommon to have frost form even if the air temperature is in the mid to high 30s.

This past week, over the Thanksgiving holiday, I was just wasting some time surfing the internet -- you know, checking out the Golfdom Daily as I am sure you do quite often -- and I started thinking about the pros and cons of maintenance departments keeping a maintenance blog to help keep members and the public aware of what is happening on the course.

I’ll just start off by saying personally I think the pros by far outweigh the cons. It makes sense to me that by keeping an updated blog about what is happening from a maintenance perspective members and especially greens committees would be less likely to constantly hound you about what is going on and what projects are in the works. Another positive aspect is that superintendents from other courses in your community could check out your blog and possibly use the information you are posting as inspiration for projects at their course. To build on that idea, if a super is having problems convincing the powers that be about a certain project your success story posted on your blog might just be enough to tip the scale in their favor.

As far as cons go I think the biggest issue would be time. Keeping up a blog doesn’t have to take a lot of time but it does take time nonetheless and as a fellow super I know how valuable time is. Even though you have complete control over what is posted on the blog I could see how posting projects and information about your club for the world to view might also be considered negative by some.

Overall, I think the positives by far outweigh the negative regarding a maintenance blog. Shoot me a quick comment and let me know what you think and let me know if you currently have a maintenance blog or are planning on starting one.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

The Turfgrass Information Center, a unit of the Michigan State University Libraries, has received two generous donations to support digitization work.

The first gift was a challenge grant from the O.J. Noer Research Foundation, promising to match gifts before December 31, 2011, up to a total of $5000. And, when the matching gift was announced to supporters, the Wisconsin Golf Course Superintendents Association immediately pledged $5000 to meet the challenge.

“Both organizations have our sincere thanks,” said Pete Cookingham, head of the Turfgrass Information Center. “We’re also grateful to other supporters who are still responding. We now hope to exceed the original challenge by several thousand dollars!”

Monday, November 28, 2011

This press release came out last Wednesday, just as I was escaping the office for my Thanksgiving holiday...

American Vanguard Corporation today announced that the United States Environmental Protection Agency has approved certain registrations for the company’s pentachloronitrobenzene (PCNB) product line for all major commercial uses. As a result, with today’s action the company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Amvac Chemical Corporation is once again permitted to sell PCNB into the golf course turf, potato, cotton, ornamental bulb and cole crop markets domestically. Amvac continues to work with the EPA on labeling for other uses.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Every now and then you get the opportunity to be a part of something great whether it is by design or it just so happens you are just in the right place at the right time. This past week I had one of those opportunities present itself. Last week I had the pleasure to be a part of the first ever Golfdom Summit.

I realize that to some of you it may sound like I am blowing up the skirt of Golfdom, and to some extent I am, but for those of you who know me, know that any form of praise from me has to be deserved and the Golfdom Summit was one of the highest marks of my golf course maintenance career.

The first ever Golfdom Summit was held at Pinehurst Resort in Pinehurst, N.C., and featured a unique educational experience that combined boardroom/case studies with one-on-one meetings. There were also plenty of networking opportunities including playing historic Pinehurst No.2. Pinehurst No. 2 is one of many courses on my bucket list so I was able to kill two birds with one stone. (Next on my list, Whistling Straits!)

"I don't need to see a pile of equipment sitting in the middle of a room, I can see it online. I like this better because you can actually sit down with everyone one-on-one. You know what I wish? I wish there were more vendors here to meet with."

Sitting less than a mile from one of the Great Lakes (Erie) it's sometimes hard to remember there are places in the world — places in this country — where water is much more scarce. There's no question our industry plays a huge role in the protecting this most precious resource.

The folks at Rain Bird understand that, too. That's why Golfdom and our sister publication Landscape Management supported Rain Bird's Intelligent Use of Water film competition earlier this year, and we plan to do the same with a new program, the Intelligent Use of Water Awards.

Rain Bird will award a total of more than $50,000 to projects that "use water efficiently, promote green spaces and are examples of sustainability." Individual projects can earn $1,500, $5,000 or $10,000. Simply put the contest is open to "anyone with a water conservation project in need of funding."

Entrants submit their projects to the contest website where the public votes on the projects it thinks are most important. As of this writing their are only six projects available to vote on, but since the contest just started, we don't think there will be so few projects to consider in the near future. You can vote on projects or submit your own here. Voting ends March 15, 2012.

According to the contest website: "Once a project is submitted it is made available for public voting, meaning anyone can anonymously cast their vote for their favorite project. All projects can be anonymously voted on by visitors (one vote a day per project, per individual user), and the projects with the most votes in each funding category will be awarded a combined $51,000 in grants to be used towards the completion of their winning project. Winners will be announced on World Water Day – March 22, 2011."

We'll do our best to check in on the contest during the next several months. So check back here periodically for updates. Let us know if you've entered the competition. We'd love to hear about the water project you think is worthy of some prize money.

I don’t know about you but for me golf is a sacred time reserved for me, my buddies and occasionally my dad when he can fit me in. It is a four to five hour vacation from normal life. No honey-do lists, no diapers to change, just a time to recharge my batteries. Golf is a time to hang out with good friends, enjoy a few cocktails and swear like a sailor.

At least that is what I thought until I discovered Sunset Hills Memorial Golf Park in Bellevue, Wash. Sunset Hills Memorial Golf Park is a cemetery that features a complete golf hole which allows committed fans of the game to be buried or placed in a permanent golf setting, the nation’s first golf-themed memorial park.

Wednesday, November 09, 2011

If you know someone who has been creative, insightful, daring, bold or just downright brilliant when it comes to getting the most out of the golf course, nominate them for the Graffis Business Person of the Year award! It's a short form to fill out. We're only accepting nominations until this Friday. Winner gets an all-expenses paid trip to the Golf Industry Show in Las Vegas as well as a feature story about them in an upcoming issue of GOLFDOM.

Thursday, November 03, 2011

Wow, I'm glad that's over. We just finished up a big Golfdom deadline. You guys are going to love our new issue, it's got a good variety. Very different than last month, when the whole issue stuck to one theme (Turf on Trial). This month, we're all over the place with Golfdom goodness.

I just got off the phone with Dick Duggan, superintendent at The Meadow at Peabody in Peabody, Mass. We were talking turf products. Dick likes using Turf Vigor from Lebanon Turf. And if you say it in Dick's Boston accent, you say it, "Turf Vig-ahhh."

Tuesday, November 01, 2011

Hey everybody, here's the video I did while in Orlando checking out the RG3 Robotic Greens mower. I'm pretty pumped with the way it turned out! Seth tells me this video will be sent out in next week's Golfdom Insider, but he was cool with me posting it here first.

And no, that's not an illusion... my shirt always does that cool 3-D wavy effect, like you're stuck in the Matrix, when you look directly at me. That's just how I roll! (Seth has asked me to stick to the solid-colored shirts in the future. Jerk.)

Golfdom contributing editor Matt Hendren, a superintendent with the city of Kansas City, Kan., flew to Orlando to take a look at an autonomous robotic greensmower and to talk with Sean O'Brien, the superintendent utilizing them on his greens.

Last week I had the opportunity to take a trip to Orlando to Hawk’s Landing Golf Club as the guest of Precise Path Robotics to check out the RG3 robotic greens mower. The RG3 is the industry’s only autonomous, robotic greens mower and features the industry's best warranty on any greens mower. Look for more information in the November issue of Golfdom!

Going to check out the RG3 was my first of hopefully many assignments for Golfdom. It was a great trip and if you followed some of my posts form Orlando you already know Precise Path rolled out the red carpet. I had my own town car awaiting to take me to and from the airport! I realize I may be showing my cards here a little bit but I thought that was AWESOME! One of my favorite movies is "Made" featuring Vince Vaughn and it took everything in me not to rip off a scene from the movie and make sure to let all the ladies know, "I’m a tall drink of water and I need to stretch my *&#@ out!" as I climbed into my “limo.”

While in Orlando I got to go to dinner with the gentlemen from Precise Path and also had the privilege of attending a media session where I learned everything I could ever possibly want to know about Precise Path and the RG3. I also got to golf with the gents from Precise Path -- I was surprised that Golfdom was the only industry mag to take Precise Path up on their offer for golf! Let me tell those other mags, you guys missed a nice golf course, Hawk's Landing was sweet (although the weather was blustery that day) and you also missed my EAGLE!

At the end of the trip I received a diploma for completing RG3 University. I’m pretty sure the RG3 diploma is on the same level as an honorary degree from Harvard or Princeton so I am now being sought out by several Fortune 500 companies!

All joking aside, the trip was awesome and the RG3 is a great product and a glimpse into the future of golf course maintenance. Make sure to check out November’s issue for all the details, as well as next week's Golfdom Insider e-newsletter for a Golfdom TV interview I did with Sean O'Brien, director of golf at Hawk's Landing.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Reinders Inc. announced recently that Jerry Kershasky has joined the company to help serve the Chicago market. He will be a Territory Manager in the Soft Goods Business Group responsible for sales and product support.

For the past 37 years, Jerry has been the superintendent at Westmoor Country Club, a Championship 18 hole course in Brookfield, Wis. As superintendent he coordinated the effort in gaining membership approval and then supervising a major course renovation in 2008 that included an XGD drainage install and the fumigation and regrassing of greens. He worked closely with Lohmann Golf Designs of Marengo, Ill. to establish a sustainable course design. This renovation project was instrumental in lowering the annual golf course operational budget.

Monday, October 24, 2011

If you get Golfdom's e-newsletters, then you already received today's "Inside Irrigation" email. But if you didn't, below is what you missed!You can subscribe to Golfdom's e-newsletters by clicking here.

Turk's Tips

An irrigation professional of 25 years shares his most valuable tips for maintaining problem-free irrigation systems.

By Seth Jones

Joe Turk owns and operates Turf Assist, which services golf course irrigation systems in San Diego, Palm Springs, Riverside and the Orange County area of California. He first started working on irrigation systems when he was only 17, and now, 25 years later, he finds himself busier than ever trouble-shooting systems on golf courses.

"I don't like making people feel bad when they mess up their systems," Turk says. "So I try to tell them, 'Hey, instead of doing this, next time, do this.'"

Turk says that the customers who do the below tips regularly are some of his worst customers, because he never has to visit their courses.

"The guys who do this, they have it going on," Turk says. "I never hear from them. That's fine with me, I'm impressed."

Back up your irrigation database

When was the last time you backed up your database? Stop reading and do it right now, you might thank me later. Guys get busy and they think their computers will take care of them. Then, the computer crashes and guess what -- the last backup was six months ago. The computer can't help you unless you back up often.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

It was just announced that Chuck Borman will accept the Distinguished Service Award at next month's Carolinas GCSA conference and show. It's a great gesture by the Carolinas to one of the great personalities in our industry.

I worked at GCSAA during Chuck's brief stint as the association's COO. You could always hear Chuck coming from about a mile away because he has this loud, booming voice, and he simply must greet every person he sees. "Hi Judy, how's it going? Dave, what's happening? Ed, how's the family?" And you'd hear this while he was on the other end of the wing!

My first impression of Chuck was, "Who is this loud guy we hired?" But then I quickly learned that the man can motivate people and get them working toward a common goal. The Carolinas very obviously benefited from these qualities.

Another thing about Chuck: great taste in cars. He's a Chevy muscle car fan, which I can appreciate.

Here's the press release, below. Congrats, Chuck, from all your friends at Golfdom!

Long-time golf industry administrator, Charles M. “Chuck” Borman, CAE will receive the Distinguished Service Award from the Carolinas Golf Course Superintendents Association next month. Borman led the association as executive director for a decade over two stints beginning in the late '90s. Under his leadership the association experienced significant growth in membership, services and revenues. The Distinguished Service Award is the highest honor the 1,800-member association bestows.

Borman will be honored at a special presentation during the association's annual conference and trade show in Myrtle Beach, S.C. that runs Nov. 14-16. The conference and show itself tripled in size during Borman's administration, today providing more than 100 hours of formal education and occupying some 100,000 sq. ft. of exhibition space.

1. "Petrifying Springs Golf Course" is a great name for a golf course.

2. The other day I entered a drawing for a giant flat-screen TV at my local Dairy Queen. The very next day, DQ called me. "Mr. Jones, this is Amanda from Dairy Queen, I have good news," she said. I took a breath. "Yes?" "You entered our drawing... and you won a Dairy Queen hat! We'll re-enter your name in the drawing for the TV..."

Here's the release about Lori Stanek, who did way better than a Dairy Queen hat:

The crew at Petrifying Springs, including Lori Stanek, assistant superintendent, on the mower, and David Hassel, supervisor of golf conditions, to her left.

Toro would like to congratulate Lori Stanek, assistant golf course superintendent at Petrifying Springs Golf Course in Kenosha, Wis., on winning a new Toro Greensmaster TriFlex Hybrid riding greensmower. The giveaway was part of Toro’s “Master the Greens U.S. Tour” equipment demonstration series hosted at golf courses across the country this summer.

“I attended the Master of the Greens tour because they were previewing the new TriFlex mowers from Toro. When I found out I won the mower I was in total disbelief,” recounted Lori Stanek. “This is a great opportunity for Kenosha County to have a quality mower.”